About these terms

A reference dictionary for the words used elsewhere on Kingdom. Some are legal — Form 14, Confirmation, Procurator Fiscal. Some are industry — Standardised Price List, disbursements, FD-only. Some are Scottish — lair, Confirmation again, the eight-day window. None of them are everyday vocabulary, and the directory pages assume you can look any of them up here.

Standardised Price List (SPL)

The CMA-mandated document every UK funeral director must publish, in print and online, listing the firm's prices in a standard format. Imposed by the Competition and Markets Authority's Funerals Market Investigation Order 2021, in force from 16 September 2021. The SPL covers three named products — attended funeral, unattended (direct) cremation, and unattended burial — at the firm's own prices excluding third-party disbursements. Kingdom's directory cites every price on every card to its source SPL by publication date.

Attended funeral

A full ceremony with mourners present. Includes the service (religious or secular), the coffin, transport of the body in a hearse, mourners attending at the crematorium chapel or graveside, and the funeral director's care of the body before the day. The CMA SPL price for an attended funeral is the funeral director's own fee — it excludes the crematorium or burial fee, the celebrant or minister, the death notice, flowers, and the order-of-service printing.

Direct cremation

A cremation without a service or attendance. The body is collected, kept in care, taken to the crematorium, cremated, and the ashes are returned to the family — usually within two to three weeks. There is no ceremony, no mourners, and the family is not present. The price is usually the lowest the funeral director publishes. Some Fife firms do not offer it; their card will say "Not offered". This is normal — direct cremation is a recent product category and absence is not a failing.

Unattended burial

A burial without mourners present. The funeral director collects the body, the burial takes place at a cemetery the family has chosen, and the family is not in attendance. Less common than direct cremation as a product, partly because lair purchase and burial-plot fees vary so much by cemetery that a single price is harder to publish. Where it is offered, the SPL price covers the funeral director's services only — the lair fee and grave-digging fee are paid separately to the local authority.

Unattended cremation

A cremation without mourners. In most firms' usage this is the same product as direct cremation, and the two terms are interchangeable. The CMA SPL uses "unattended cremation" as the formal label; "direct cremation" is the consumer-facing term most national providers — Pure Cremation, Go Direct, Memoria — use in marketing.

FD-only price

The price for the funeral director's own services: care of the body, coffin, hearse, staff time, paperwork. It excludes third-party fees the funeral director pays on the family's behalf — the crematorium charge, the celebrant, the doctor's certification, the death notice, flowers, the order-of-service printing. The CMA SPL is published in FD-only terms by default. Where Kingdom shows an FD-only price, the family should expect to add disbursements before the total invoice.

Bundled price

A price that combines the funeral director's own fee with one or more third-party charges, presented as a single figure. Most national direct-cremation providers (Pure Cremation, Go Direct) publish bundled prices because the cremation fee and doctor's fee are predictable at scale. Some Fife independents publish bundled direct-cremation prices on the same logic. Kingdom flags any bundled price on the firm's card with a footnote explaining what it includes.

Disbursements

Third-party fees the funeral director pays on the family's behalf and passes through on the invoice. Typical disbursements: the crematorium or burial fee paid to the local authority or crematorium, the doctor's certification fee where applicable, the minister's or celebrant's fee, the death notice in the local paper, flowers from a florist, the order-of-service printing, and sometimes a wake-venue cost. The funeral director's written estimate must show disbursements separately under the CMA rules.

Form 11 / MCCD

The Medical Certificate of Cause of Death — the document the certifying doctor issues stating cause of death. Now usually transmitted electronically straight to the registrar rather than handed to the family. Without it, in any form, registration cannot proceed. About 12% of MCCDs are pulled for review by Healthcare Improvement Scotland's Death Certification Review Team, which can add one to three working days. If the certifying doctor cannot be confident of cause, the case goes to the Procurator Fiscal instead.

Form 14

The Certificate of Registration of Death, issued by the registrar at the end of the registration appointment. Free. Cremation or burial cannot proceed without it; the funeral director needs Form 14 in hand before booking the crematorium or grave. It is the registrar's confirmation that the death has been entered in the statutory register of deaths under the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965.

Procurator Fiscal

Scotland's death investigator — the equivalent of England's Coroner. Operates through the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, with deaths handled by the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit. Investigates sudden, unexpected, accidental, or unexplained deaths; deaths within 24 hours of hospital admission or after a procedure; work-related deaths; suspicious or violent deaths; and any death where no doctor can confidently certify cause. While a case is with the Procurator Fiscal, the eight-day registration clock is suspended.

Tell Us Once

A free Scottish-government notification service, started at the registration appointment, that notifies most government departments about a death in one process. Notifies DWP, HMRC, Social Security Scotland, HM Passport Office, DVLA, the local council, Veterans UK, and most public-sector pension schemes. Does not notify private sector — banks, insurers, employers, utilities, private pensions — those the family must contact directly.

Confirmation

Scotland's equivalent of probate. The legal process by which the Sheriff Court formally confirms an executor's authority to administer the deceased's estate. Most Scottish banks will release up to about £25,000 to a funeral director on production of the invoice and death certificate without Confirmation; larger sums and any heritable property — land or houses — require Confirmation. Granted by the Sheriff Court for the area in which the deceased was domiciled.

Lair

The Scottish term for a burial plot. A right of burial in a specific lair is purchased from the local authority or cemetery operator. In Fife, lairs in council cemeteries are sold by Fife Council Bereavement Services. The right of burial is for a fixed number of years, after which it can usually be renewed. The cost of a lair is separate from the cost of grave-digging and from any monumental mason or headstone work.

Funeral Support Payment

Scotland's funeral funding benefit, administered by Social Security Scotland. Replaced the old DWP Funeral Expenses Payment in Scotland from September 2019. Covers cremation or burial fees in full plus a flat-rate contribution to other costs (£1,327.75 in 2026/27), provided the applicant or their partner is on a qualifying means-tested benefit. Not the same as Bereavement Support Payment. Apply at mygov.scot or by phone on 0800 182 2222.

Bereavement Support Payment

A UK-wide DWP income benefit for surviving spouses and civil partners under State Pension age, paid as a lump sum plus eighteen monthly payments. Not means-tested. Not a funeral grant — income for the bereaved. Higher rate (with dependent children): £3,500 + £350 × 18 = £9,800. Standard rate: £2,500 + £100 × 18 = £4,300. Cohabiting couples without children get nothing. Claim within three months for the full amount.

Embalming

Chemical preservation of the body, used to slow decomposition for viewing in an open-coffin context, where a longer period is needed before the funeral, or for repatriation overseas. Not legally required in Scotland for cremation or burial. Most direct cremations do not include embalming. Where requested, it is performed by the funeral director's mortuary staff and listed as a separate line on the invoice.

Cremulator

The machine that reduces cremated bone fragment to a fine ash after the cremation chamber has finished. The cremation chamber itself runs at around 800 to 1,000 degrees Celsius for between ninety minutes and three hours, depending on the size of the body. What remains after that is bone fragment. The cremulator processes the fragment into the ash that is returned to the family. The whole process is regulated under the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016.

Section 50 funeral

A statutory funeral arranged by the local authority when no one else can or will. The legal duty is in section 50 of the National Assistance Act 1948 — still live in Scotland — and Part 3 of the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016. Also called a "national assistance funeral" or "public health funeral". The funeral is basic: typically cremation, no flowers, no transport for mourners, no headstone. The council recovers costs from any estate that emerges; it does not pursue family members. In Fife, contact the Duty Officer on 01592 583 488.

CMA

The Competition and Markets Authority. The UK regulator that conducted the funerals market investigation in 2018-2020 and imposed the Funerals Market Investigation Order 2021. The Order requires every UK funeral director to publish a Standardised Price List, both in print at the premises and on any website, in a fixed format, from 16 September 2021. The CMA reference is what makes the Kingdom directory possible — without the SPL requirement, prices would be quoted in private and could not be aggregated.

NAFD

The National Association of Funeral Directors. The largest UK funeral trade body. Members agree to a code of practice covering pricing transparency, complaints handling, and standards of care. Membership is voluntary; non-members are still bound by CMA rules. Many Fife independents are NAFD members; some are SAIF members instead; a few are unaffiliated.

SAIF

The National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors. A UK trade body specifically for independent (non-corporate) firms — those not owned by Co-op Funeralcare, Dignity, or other groups. Independent ownership is the membership criterion. SAIF members run their own code of practice and a hardship fund.

Celebrant

A person who conducts a funeral service. The role is distinct from the funeral director, who organises the day. A celebrant may be a religious minister (Church of Scotland, Catholic priest, Free Church minister), a humanist celebrant accredited by Humanist Society Scotland, an independent celebrant, or a family member acting in the role for a small or informal funeral. The celebrant's fee is a disbursement — paid by the funeral director on the family's behalf and passed through on the invoice — not part of the funeral director's own price.

Bearer

One of the people who carry the coffin. Usually staff from the funeral director, sometimes family members.

Burial ground / cemetery

Where someone is buried. In Fife these are run by Fife Council.

Civil celebrant

A non-religious or flexible celebrant. Can include religious elements if asked.

Crematorium

Where cremation takes place. Three serve Fife: Kirkcaldy, Dunfermline, and Brewsterwells (St Andrews).

Funeral director

The firm that arranges the funeral. They handle the body, paperwork, transport, venue, and book the celebrant on your behalf. "Undertaker" means the same thing.

Humanist celebrant

A non-religious celebrant accredited by Humanist Society Scotland. Leads ceremonies without religious content.

Minister

A religious celebrant from a specific church (Church of Scotland, Catholic, Free Church, etc.).

Mortician

Another word for funeral director. Less common in the UK than "undertaker" or "funeral director".

Pre-need plan / pre-paid funeral plan

A way of paying for your own funeral in advance. Regulated by the FCA since 2022.

Registrar

The council official who records the death. In Fife you book through Fife Council central booking on 03451 55 00 77.

Repatriation

Bringing someone who has died abroad back to Scotland, or sending someone from Scotland abroad for burial.

Unattended funeral

A funeral without mourners present. The funeral director handles everything; the family doesn't attend. Cheaper than attended.

Undertaker

The older word for funeral director. Means the same thing.

Woodland burial / natural burial

Burial in a natural setting (a woodland or meadow), often with a biodegradable coffin and no headstone. Not all funeral directors offer this.

Next: for the wider sequence after a death, see what to do when someone dies. To register the death itself, see registering a death in Fife. For funding, see funeral payment help in Scotland. For the directory, see funeral directors.